Corn-planter.



M. R. MOPPITT.

CORN PLANTBR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25, 1907.

Patented Mar. 9, 1909,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

glnwnloz alban,

M. R. MOFPITT.

` GORN PLANTER. APPLIGATION FILED xu25,19o7.

91 4,858. Patented Mar. 9, 1909.

3 SHEETS-BHEET 3.

MORRS ll. MUFFI'IT, Oi" PEUR: KANSAS.

GOBN-PLANTER.

Speciflcation ol.' Letters Patent.

Patented March 9, 1909.

Application led Hay 25, 1907. Burial No. 375,663.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, Mounts R. Morrrr'r, a citizen oi the United States, residing at Peck, in the county of Sedgwick und Starte ul' Kansas, have invented ne` und usci'ul Improvements in Corn-Planters, of which the l'ollo\\- ing is a. specification.

The invention relates to an improvement in corn planters in which provision is made for automaticsill)`- delivering a number ol grains of corn :it predetermined distances throughout thc lengt-h o1' a furrow.

The main object of the invention is the production of means whereby the planting of the corn is automatically performed during the forward travel of the machine, the planting mechanism and operating parts therefor being arranged so that the o erator may manually control the interval etween the planting o erations, whereby the operation of the mac ine may be controlled to insure vai and regular planting throughout the Another object of the invent ion is the provision of means whereby the operator may munuallx adjust the corn planting mechanism while the machine is at. restto regulate the delivery in accordance with the rows previously planted, thereby insurin the equell spaced and alined rows desirs le in corn p exiting.

Another o jectoi the invention is the com struction of a machine in which the com planting mechanism is automnticiilliT operated in the forward propulsion ol'- t e ma.- chine, the automatic mechanism being so constructed as to permit manual adjust mentduring the com ant-ing operation to insure t-houlpllanting o any onerow with proper rity and accorse with respect to the :iger rows, wherobgr tile machine is wholl;r complete in itself and the check Wire ordinarily employed in' com planters is entirelv dis ensed with.

Wit-l1 t e above objects in View, thcinven tion consists in cert-ain details of `construction and combinations of perts. which will-be fully described'iii the following specification,

reference being d partieul'erlv to the ac-4 A compenylng drawings, in which:

l i i mechanism, Fi 4 is a vcrticul sectional View through the de ivory tube, Fig. .-3 is a vertical sectional view through the seed hop ier, 1` ig. 6 is an enlarged partial section tn on justabove the drive. shaft, Fig. T is u. section on line 7T ol' Fil'. 1, Fig. is nY section on line Se-S nll ["Lg. ti, l) is n side elevation of the marker und connected parts, Fig. l0 is u rear elevation ol the marking blade, Fig. l1 is n sectional detail showing the manual nous for controlling the operating shaft. Fig. 12 is a section on line 12-12 ol' Fig. 6.

Referring particularly to the dra-wings, my improved com planter comprises a frame 1 including side ba-rs 2 connected adjacent their rear ends by n cross bar 3 and 1n advance of the cross bar 3 by a beam 4 serving to support the manually operable parts oi' the structure. Between the cross bar 3 and beam 4 the side bars 2 are provided with hangers 5 formed at their lower ends to pro vide bearings for the drive shaft or axle 6. Each terminal of the drive shaft be lond the respective side bar is provided Wit a. sup porting or ground 'wheel 7, the peripheral or tread surface of which is ooncaved in trarnsverse section, as shown at 8. Each wheel is mounted upon a sleeve 9 freely revoluble upon the drive shaftdand forming ono member of acluteh coqnection, the op sin member 10 of which comprises a sleevellibye for independent sliding movement on the drive shaft and s r' pressed for normal engagement with t elsleve l0. As is usuel in clutches of this character the Contactin@ edges of the clutch members are formed with teeth arranged to interlock when the opere.- tiveclutch member 9v is moving in the for ward direction, and to over ride withoutI co operation'when the operative member 9 is driven in the reverse direction. The drive shaft is thus revolved while the machine is traveling in the forward direction, but remains unaffected when the mai-chine is travelingrin the reelward direction.

o the relatively `forwnrd ends of the side bars 2 ofjthe mainframe is connected a forward or.. munerframesupportinge beam 11, Athec'onnectionibveiligprcfe'rely through cop- 'side here; to' perinitfgnecessary independent fniovement et .the Preferably@ f righi-1an the' .f Q ,operating,-asihiift;n 1 Sis 'revolublyelipporteii t boem:V 'Theoheam 1-1'V is le liolivi'iird. and

oilv the: machin in bearing standards 14 rising from the beam.' 11, said sha'l't terminally extending beyond the ends of the beam, for a purpose which will presently appear.

Corn planting mechanism is arranged adjacent each end of the o erating shaft, said mechanism being in dup icate to provide for simultaneously planting two spaced rows. Said mechanism comprises a seed ho )per 15 supported from the beam 11 by brac ets 16, within which hopper is arranged the seed disk 17 formed on its periphery with bevel gear teeth 18 arranged to mesh with a bevel gear 19 on the operating shaft, whereby the seed disk isl revolved. The seed disk is formed with appropriately arranged o )enings designed in the revolution of the disk to receive a grain of seed from the ho per and deliver the saine to a discharge c lute 20. mnediatelybeneath the seed ho er is a delivery tube 21, including side waIlJs and a front wall, the tube being suspended from the beam 11 by the supporting plates or bars 22, as shown in Fig. 4. The upper ond of the tube is o envand arranged to receive the seed delivered) through the chute 2U, and is provided at its lower e'nd with a bottom 23 which inelincs from the forward wall rearwardly to a position slightl in advance of the rear edges of the side wa l. A gate 24 is mounted in the delivery tube being pivotall f supported at a point about midway its length in ears 25 rejecting from the rear edges of the side wa ls of the tube. At the relative] upper end, or adjacent thereto, the gate 1s provided with a rearwardly extending ear 26 formed with an opening to receive'one arm of an L-shaped lever 27 pivotally supported at 28 on the beam, the'u per end of the lever projecting above the llfeam and being normally disposed in the path of a trip 29 adjustabl secured on the operating shaft throng 1 the medium ol' a set screw 30. The lower end of the gate is normally in Contact with the inclined bottom 23 of the tube, being maintained in this position by a coil spring 31 connecting the relatively upper end of the gate -and a bracket arm 32 projecting from the su pporting plate 22.

rThe relatively upper end of the lever 27 will, in the revolution of the operating shaft, be engaged by the trip 29 with the effect to rock the gate on its pivotal support andv move the lower end of said gate from contact with the bottom 23 of the tube. The parts are so arranvcd that in theoperation of the shaft 13 tlie seed disk will deliver through the chute 20 a certain number of grains of corn between the operations of the trip 29. The grains so delivered will lodve between the gate and -tube bottom and lie retained in .auch position until the trip 29 operates thegate, whereu on the collected seedtwill -be simultaneous y delivered for a .single hill .or-.planting Runners or furrow l 15: :i Mil i beam 11 and extending rearwardl openers 33 in pairs are secured to the res ectivc side walls of the tube, projecting t icrel'rom in a forwardly direction, the runl ners of each pair inclining toward cach other and being of arcuate shape in elevation. The runners )reject slightly below the lower end of the tube and the forward ends of each pair of runners are joined by a cross bar 34.

he runners serve to open a furrow immediately in advance of the tube for the rece tion of the corn. In this connection it Wi l be noted that the concaved formation of j the tread surfaces of the ground wheels will operate to close the ground over the deposited corn, it being noted that said wheels travel directly in the line of furrow formed by the runners.

Secured upon the drive shaft is a clutch mechanism comprising an independently slidable-sleeve 35 keyed upon the shaft and a gear sleeve 36 loose upon the shaft. The contacting edges of the respective sleeves are arranged for usual toothed engagement, the sleeve 35 adjacent its operative end being formed with a disk 37 and the sleeve 36 being formed with a similar disk 38 arranged in spaced parallel relation with the disk 37 which will presently appear. The disk 38 is referably formed integral or provided wit a sprocket 39 adapted to engage and operate a sprocket chain 40 exten ing to a sprocket 41 fixed ,upon a sleeve 42 loosely mounted upon tliytoperating shaft 13. Bel yond each end of ilie sleeve 42 is arranged a clutch sleeve 43, 44, each of whichis adapted for independent sliding connection with the shaft and is spring pressed toward the sleeve 42. The ends of the sleeve 42, and the proximate ends of the sleeves 43 and 44 respectively are formed with cooperating clutch teeth, so that said sleeve 42 is in effect a clutch member arranged for independent engagement with either clutch sleeve 43 or 44.

which 1s seated a yoke end 46 of a lever 47 mounted upon an arm projecting from the within reach of the operator. By mani u ation of the lever 47, the sleeve 42 may e engaged with either clutch sleeve 43 or 44 or may be held' between said clutch sleeves in coo )eration with the lever out of contact with s eeves 43 or 44.

De )ending from cach end of the beam 11 is a anger strip 48 in which is rotatably mounted a stub shaft 49 earryin a gear 50 arranged to mesh with and be riven'by a ear 51 secured upon the end of the operating shaft 13. Below the stub shaft 49 a second stub shaft 52 is mounted in the hanger 48, on which is mounted a gear 53 arranged to mesh with the gear 50, and carrying proj ecting studs 54 on which is fixed an arm 55 carrying at its lower end a hinge' connection The sleeve 42 is formed. .with spaced annular ribs or collars 45 in the, uuu-ker 5T is: fornwd with n project ion 51D l carrying u, pin 6l) projecting `L ltroucgh un opening in the arm 55, n coil sprung: (il encireliin,I j

tho pin between its` head nud the proximate surface of the nrm 55.

l luivc ulsodcrised n menus hy uldoh the ntlwuu-iug ol' Ihi: opvrnliui: shrill, lil-youd thc norlunl rqui-vd muy lnnovoluplished duringr thtl loruurd propulsion of the umchinc, so

thut the oprrulor muy adjust thv operation :u nny liuuI during tlul traut-l ol lho uuichine. 'lo this end l secure upon the hruln 4 In almemont with the sleeve 256. n bracket 0S in which pivotnlly mounted u lever G11 nordiutn of the sprungr und pin. the nuulter may 1 yield in one diret-tion nu'lependently of the movement ot" the arm whereby pnn'ision is umdefor the automatic accomxnodzttion of the arm to obstruotions in the surface with which the nutrker engages. such :is stones or the like.

The resliective gears are so arranged that as the trip 2t) opera-tes to open the gate 24 to f with the geur 76 nre of materially great-er feed the accumulated seed, the nuu'kcr 58 will enga-ge und fox-n1 n depression or mark in the. ground, thereby ixnhenting the exact line of plant-ing*- and permitting the operator during the next row planting to tr operation of the nmelnne in accord Vwith the marks already made. there-hy dining the rows plant ed.

ItV is, of course, obvious that after planting n double row bv a single trip of the machine 5 through the field, the next trip, as well ns all subsequent trips must deposit the seed in alinement with that. of the first row. As in the forward propulsion of the. machine t-he marker, as well as the automatic planting operation occurs` with absolute uniformity end regularity, there must. he provided some means y which the pla-thing mechanism und marker may be adjusted when the machine is ready for each particular trip across the iielcl so ns to insure the planting operation in a-linement with the hills of the previous row. To this end l have devised n mea-ns by which the operating shaft muy be adjusted independently to advance or retard the planting operation in the initial planting at the end ol n row, so that all subsequent. pleutinvs in that row will aline with the lsntings di the previous rows. To this enell I secure upon the operating shaft o ratchet 6i' and loosely secure upon the shaft, edjneent the ratchet und on o posite sides thereof, the spared anus of a )racket 63, between which a-rmsds bracket 63 is connected by a rod 64 to a lever mounted on the cross beam 4, preferably upon s.- shnt- 66 supported in besrin plates secured to the beam. The lever is t us arranged wit-hin convenient reach of the operatoneothiitwhen desired the rod 64' may be reciproeoted'with the effect to conse the ps .Wl 6440 engage-tho ratohet 62 and thereby ieoperating 'shaft manually to nutlly held in relou-.ted position by :t spring TU` ()n the lower end of the lcrer is Carried r1 slntft 7l on which is mounted u :sleeve 72 rurrying spaced gears T3 und -l. The gears 73 und 74 nre arranged in nlinemenl les ieetirely with the genrs 75 and '76, secured resuer-.tively on the drive shaft und on the sleeve 36. 0l' the respective pairs ol' gears. the gea-r 75, is arranged to mesh with the geur 73, und the geur 74, arranged to mesh diameter than the remaining gears lol the.

69 the sleeve 36, from which the sprocketchain 40 is operated, will be driven through l ofear T5, gear T3, sleeve 72, gear 74. and gear t'l. .is the gears '73 and 76 are of smaller diameter than the remaining gears, an accelerated movement. will be imparted to the slee-re 36 wit-h the efl'cet to increase the speed of travel of the chain over the normal, and thus decrease the intervals between the planting operations.

It is, of course, understood thatthe use of the accelerated drivin means described is desined to momentai increase the speed of tie operating shaft with the elfe-ct to conse the planting Jerations to vai-ry in order to permitthe nlael 'ne to cnteh up in point of nlinemeut with t-he hills of the previous row, and that, such omelet-ated movement will be continued as long es the operntor maintains pressure upon the handle end of the lever 69. Upon the release of this pressure the spring will operate to disenagc the gears, referred to, permitting the e om 40 to be again operated through the clutch 3.5, ns will be understood.

A draft beam T7 extends beneath the su porting beam l1 and is connected to t ie cross bur 34 joining the runners, the forward end of t-he beam may curry a doubletree and cooperating parts for the attachment of the draft animals. The relatively tear and of the draft beam is connected by a link 78 t-o an. arm 79 fixed on t-he shaft 66, a. lever 80 being mounted for rotating the shuitwhen desired. In connection with the lever I secure upon the shaft 66 o. pressure bar 81 the relative] rear end of which is provided with a foot p te 82 4arranged within convenient 7 reach of the'feet of the operator, so that when desired the upoilthe foot latenndpulhng upon the lever-,televoto t efrelatiely. rear end of the` operator muy by pressi-ng,

inici draft beam and thereby lift the iront or runner frame carrying the planting mech'- anism free of the round.

As the described elevation of the frame carrying the planting mechanism is to be desired when moving the machine to or from the licld or when turning at the end of a row, it is obvious that in connection with slfcli elevation means should be employed for simultaneously preventiny transmission of power to the operating s iaft. This is accomplished by providing the lever 80 with a dependingr arm 82 to which is connected a i'ectan rular framemeinber 83, the upper and lower b at their relatively forward ends, as at 84. The up ier and lower bars of the frame S3 are normally disposed between the disks 37 and 38 of the sleeves 35 and 36 on the drive shaft, above and below said shaft. Therefore, as the lever 80 is bici-ated to elevate the frame carrying the pllanting Vmechanism the frame 83 will be moved longitudinally .structe with respect to the drive shaft and cause the widened portions 84 of said frame to separate the disks 37 and 38 and thereby disengage the clutch teeth on the proximate ends of the sleeves 35 and 36. The rotation of the drive shaft will, therefore, not iaffect the sleeve 36 and the drive chain 40 will remain at rest until opei'ation of the lever 8() in the reverse direction.,

In o eration, assuming the parts conand airan d as described, the forward propulsion' o the machine serves to actuate the planting mechanism inthe inaniier described withA the effect te de osit a definite number of seed in spaced hil s, and to mark the relative positions of said hills as a gage to the lanting operation of the next row. After iaving completed the row the operator will turn the machine for the planting ofthe next row, at the saine time elevating the operating parts and automatically disconnecting the drive' shaft from the operating shaft in the manner described. When the .machine is in position for planting the next row, the operator, through the use of the lever A(i5, may manually operate the shaft 13 to so adjust' the parts that the initial planting in the row about to be planted will aline with the last llanting of the previously 'planted row. uring the planting of any one row, if it is discovered that through any irregularity in the surface the alinement with the previous hills is not regular, the operator may readily retard oi' accelerate the movement of the operating shaft to decrease or increase the niovenunt of said` shaft until the machine has again heen adjusted to alinement. In retarding the movement of the shaft the lever 47 is moved from side to side to cause theslcevc 42 to be moved longitudinally of the operating shaft d i in" ars of which are materially widened and engage the irst or second clutch sleeve 43 or 44. During the reciprocation the sleeve 42 is irre from either clutch sleeve, hence the operating shaft is not affected by the drive chain 40, and its movement is retarded as dcsiredi Through operation of tlie lever 69 and connected parts the movenient of the operating shaft may be accelerated in the manner previously described. The operator is thus given absolute control of the machine and may initially adjust the operating shaft, or retard or accelerate its movement during travel to adjust the planting operations to insure absolute uniformity and alinement of the planted hills.

In connection with the machine described I contemplate the use of a scraper 85 for each ground wheel, mounted upon a shaft 8.6 supported in the relatively rear ends of the sidears 2 of the main frame and operated through a rod 87 leading to a lever 88. A line marker 89, ofapproximately triangular shape in rear elevation is supported upon a rod 90 pivotall mounted on an arm 91 depending from t e shaft 86, said marker being connected to the draft beam b atie bar 92, and serving to provide a line ibngitudinally of the field beyond the plane of operation of the'inachine for use as a gage in the return travel of the machine to insure even planting. When the operator reaches the end of the field and turns the machine the marker is within thel spirit of my invention sueh variations and modifications of the construction described as may fall within the scope of the ap ended claims.

-Iaving thus described the invention what is claimed as new, is:q

- 1. A corn planter including a main frame, a drive shaft mounted thereon, means for o erating the drive shaft in the traveloft e lanter, an operatie shaft supported on the ront frame, means or actuating the operating shaft from the drive shaft, diiplieate corn planting mechanisms actuated 1n the movement of the operating shaft, auxiliary frames depending from the front frame adjacent the end of the operating shaft, intermeshing gears carried by each auxiliary frame a marker carried by onev of said gears, en a gear carried by thel end of the operating shaft and serving to drive the intermeshmg gears.

2. A corn planter including a main frame, a drive shaft mounted thereon, .means for o i erating the drivesliai't in the travel of tilie lauter, an operating shaft supported on the trent frame, means for actuating the operating shaft from the drive shaft, duplicate corn planting mechanisms actuated in the movement of the operating shaft, auxiliary frames y depending from the main frame adjacent the i end of tilie operating shaft, interineshiiig gears carried by each auxiliary frame, a marker carried by one of said gears, and a gear carried by the end of the operating shaft and serving to drive the interineshing gears, said marker bein adapted for inde pendent movement relative to its supporting gear in one direction.

3. A corn planter including a main frame, a drive shaft operated in the travel of the )lanter, an operating shaft sup orted on the rame in advance of the drive s aft, a clutch sleeve loose u on the o erating shaft, duplicate clutch s eeves sli ably mounted u on the drive shaft and adapted to be engager by the opposing ends of the loose clutch sleeve, i a sprocket Wheel secured upon the loose clutch sleeve, a drive chainengaeing said wheel and operated by the drive shaft, and means for manually adjusting the loose clutch sleeve with res ect to the sliding clutch sleeve, whereby t ie movement of the operating shaft may be retarded without affecting the movement of the drive chain.

4. A corn planter including a main frame, a drive shaft supported thereby, means for o )erating said shaft in the fori Vard travel of t ie lanter, an operating shaft su ported by the tront frame in advance of the rive shaft, a clutch sleeve loose upon the drive shaft, a elutehing element iixed on the drive shaft against independent revoluble movement and adapted to normally engage the clutch sleeve, a sprocket wheel carried b the sleeve, a power chain engaging said w ieel and in turn aetiiating the operating shaft, a gear lixed upon the elutili sleeve, a gear iixed upon the drive shaft, and a nninnally operable train of gears adapted to be engaged with the drive gear and sleeve gear, said ri i speetive gears being arranged to airelerzite the movement oil the sprorltet Wheel beyond that oll the drive shalt 'when llie gears :ire iii meshing relation.

5. A rorn planter,including planting merlianisni, means for operating said inerhanisni i during the travel of the plantel', and pivotally mounted means arranged l'or bodily movement to and l'rom the operating means, said )votally mounted. means being in one position artuated by the operating means i and in turn aetuating the planting meehanp ism, said latter means varying the movement l of the planting mechanism from that resultingliireetly from the operating means.

6. A rorn planterincluding plantingmeehanisin, means for normally actuating said mcehanism, and manually operable pivotally mounted means movable to and from the aetuating means and arranged between the ac tuating means and the planting meehanism, whereby said planting mechanism will be driven by the actuating means through the pivotally mounted means but at a speed varying from the normal.

7. A vorn planter inrluding piantine' merli anism, means i`or operating said inedlianism during the travel ot the planter, and means pivotally supported for bodily movement to and from the operating means and arranged to be manually interposed in the operating means to eause the travel of-the planter to vary the speed of the planting mechanism from the normal.

8. A corn planter including a drive sha'l't, planting mechanism, and means whereby said shaft Will operape the mechanism, in combination with a pivotally mounted gear train arranged for bodily movement to and from the operating means, said ear train bein adapted to be interposed etween said drive shaft and operating means, whereby to vary the speed of the planting mechanism from that normally induced in the operation of the drive shaft.

9. A corn lanter ineluding a drive shaft, planting niet` anism, a drive chain for said mechanism having clutch connection with the drive shaft, and a gear train pivotally supported for bodily movement to and from the drive shaft, said gear train being arranged to be. manually interposed between the drive shaft and eluteh connection of the drive ebain, whereby said chain is driven from the drive shaft at a speed varying from its nor- 'mal speed.

lll. A eorn planter including planting iiierbunisim a drive shalt, rotiperating Clutch members mounted on the drivi` shaft, a drive chain operated by one ol' said rliitr'h members lor ari iiating the planting mechanism, a

gear rarried by said rluteb member, a seeond gear operated direrlly by the drive slnift, and a pivotally mounted sertioii 'niry ing gears to intermesli willi the rliitrli gear and drive shalt gear, whereby the chain may be opery ated directly l'rom the drive shaft or through said gears.

in testimony whereof, l alhx my signature in presenre of two witi'iesses.

l\l()l{ltl `i l. M()l `li`l'l"l`.

\Vilnesses:

`W. li. imma,

[Cian Hoiinnicn. 

